Direction indicator for golf clubs



Jan. 17, 1967 w. IEISENBERG 3,293,693

DIRECTION\ INDICATOR FOR GOLF CLUBS Filed March 2, 1964 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM EISENDERG BY ZMMMJ- ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,298,693 DIRECTION INDICATOR FOR GOLF CLUBS William Eisenberg, 4228 Zenith Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55422 Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 348,628 4 Claims. (Cl. 273163) The herein disclosed invention relates to practice golf devices and has for an object to provide a device which can be easily and quickly applied to or removed from the shaft of a golf club.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a device having a pointer for indicating the direction of movement of the ball prior to the striking of the same.

A still further object of the invention resides in pro viding a connection between the device and the shaft of the club whereby the pointer may be rotated on the shaft to bring the line of sight of the club normal to the face of the head of the club.

An object of the invention resides in providing a construction in which the pointer may be disposed entirely back of the face the head of the club or at a number of different positions in which the shank of the pointer crosses the head of the club and the point of the pointer is ahead of the face of the head.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a construction which may be detachably mounted without the use of screws or other similar fasteners and which when mounted is held in place upon theshaf-t of the club by friction.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a device which does not require alteration of or permanent attachment to the club.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel construction and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/ or described.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club illustrating an embodiment of the invention applied thereto and showing the shank of the arrow extending across the blade of the club.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the device located with the pointer in a different position relative to the blade of the club.

FIG. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and drawn to a greater scale.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention an ordinary golf putter has been shown which is indicated by the reference numeral 10. This putter comprises a shaft 11 to which a suitable handle is attached and which has not been shown in the drawings. The lower end of the shaft 11 has mounted on it a blade 12 which is formed with a striking surface 13.

The practice device which is indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 20 comprises a pointer 30 and attaching means 40 by means of which the device may be secured to the putter with the pointer in several different positions with reference thereto.

The pointer 30 is constructed from sheet metal and has a shank 31, a point 32 at the forward end thereof and a nock 33 at its rear end. The shank 31 is provided with a series of holes 34 which extend throughout the length thereof and whose purpose will be presently described.

The attaching means 40 comprises two arms 41 and 42 which are also constructed of sheet metal and which are constructed with pins 43 and 44 extending outwardly from their edges throughout the major length of the said arms. The said arms at their inner ends are constructed with jaws 45 and 46 which are adapted to clamp around the shaft 11 of the putter. These two arms in proximity to the jaws 45 and 46 are provided with ears 47 and 48 which overlie one another. A pintle 49 extends through these ears and pivots the'arms for swinging movement relative to one another. When the arms are spread apart the jaws are brought together.

In using the device the two jaws are placed about the shaft 11 of putter 10 and the outer ends of the arms 41 and 42 are spread apart. The pointer 30 is next placed across the two arms and the proper pins on said arms are inserted into the desired holes positioning the pointer at the desired locality with reference to the surface 13 of the putter. In FIG. 2 the pointer has been shown as extending on both sides of the surface 13 while in FIG. 3 the pointer has been shown as terminating with the point 32 immediately above the surface 13. The attaching means is frictionally held in place on the shaft 11 by springing the arms 41 and 42 apart and inserting the proper pins in the proper holes to hold them in such position. This permits of rotating the attaching means and pointer so that the axis of the pointer can be disposed at any angle with reference to the surface 13 of the putter The pointer 30 may be located so that the shank thereof lies directly above the center of pressure of the head 12 of the club by choosing the proper pins on the arms 41 and 42 and inserting the same in the proper holes.

In use, the golfer after attaching the device in the proper position holds the club in a direction in which the pointer points to the cup. He then carefully swings the club keeping the pointer pointing to the cup and without changing the position of the pointer and without twisting the putter. If this is done the ball should travel in the direction indicated by the pointer. If the green is on a slope, the golfer can shift the position of the pointer by rotating the pointer and attaching means on the shaft of the putter. By practice, the golfer can teach himself the amount of shift required to shoot the ball in the cup with different degrees of slope of the surface of the green.

The invention is extremely simple and can be manufactured and sold at an economical cost. The practice device when removed from the club can be collapsed into a relatively small space permitting of carrying the same in the golf bag without disturbing other objects and without occupying an appreciable amount of space in the bag. The device can be quickly mounted on the club and can be mounted in various positions to suit the golfer. Angular adjustment of the pointer with reference to the blade of the putter can be quickly accomplished. The device can be made light in weight and will not perceptibly change the feel of the club when in use.

Changes in the specific form of the invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A practice golf device for attachment to a golf club having a shaft and a striking head, said device comprising,

(a) a pointer having a shank,

(b) a front arm and (c) a rear arm,

(d) said arms extending across the shank of said pointer,

(e) means for attaching said arms to said pointer at different positions along the shank thereof,

(f) said arms being pivoted together adjacent the ends thereof and (g) jaws at the pivotally connected ends of said arms adapted to clamp the device upon a club when the having a shaft and a striking head, said device comprising,

(a) a pointer having a shank,

(b) a front arm and (c) a rear arm,

(d) said arms extending across the shank of said pointer,

(e) means for attaching said arms to said pointer at different positions along the shank thereof and (f) jaws on the inner ends of said arms adapted to clamp around the shaft of the club (g) ears on said arms adjacent said jaws extending into overlying position with reference to each other and (h) a pintle extending through said ears and pivoting said arms for swinging movement to bring said jaws together and clamp the device in position upon the club.

3. A practice golf device for attachment to a golf club having a shaft and a striking head, said device comprising,

(a) a pointer having a shank,

(b) a front arm and (c) a rear arm,

((1) said arms extending across the shank of said pointer,

(e) means for attaching said arms to said pointer at different positions along the shank thereof and (f) jaws on the inner ends of said arms adapted to clamp around the shaft of the club,

(g) ears on said arms adjacent said jaws extending into overlying position with reference to each other and (h) a pintle extending through said ears and pivoting said arms for swinging movement to bring said jaws together and clamp the device in position upon the club,

(i) said arms being spaced from one another throughout their extent.

4. A practice golf device for attachment to a golf club having a shaft and a striking head, said device comprising,

(a) a pointer having a shank,

(b) a front arm and (c) a rear arm,

(d) said arms extending across the shank of said pointer in diverging relation,

(c) said arms being relatively movable,

(f) said arms and shank including mating pin and hole means permitting said shank to be overlappingly detachably connected in any of a plurality of selected positions on each of said arms, and

(g) means for attaching said arms to the shaft of the club.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,536,512 4/1925 McLaren 273-192 X 2,986,937 6/1961 Chapman 273162 X 3,033,574 5/1962 Partridge 273163 3,118,678 1/1964 Rohr 273163 FOREIGN PATENTS 97,424 2/ 1924 Austria.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. G. I. MARLO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PRACTICE GOLF DEVICE FOR ATTACHMENT TO A GOLF CLUB HAVING A SHAFT AND A STRIKING HEAD, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, (A) A POINTER HAVING A SHANK (B) A FRONT ARM AND (C) A REAR ARM, (D) SAID ARMS EXTENDING ACROSS THE SHANK OF SAID POINTER, (E) MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID ARMS TO SAID POINTER AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS ALONG THE SHANK THEREOF. (F) SAID ARMS BEING PIVOTED TOGETHER THE ENDS THEREOF AND 